InTrans Publications

Access Management Handbook

Access management is defined as the control of driveways and intersections
to maintain safety at a roadway's full traffic carrying capacity. Implementing
an access management program based on the principles described in this
handbook will encourage smooth and safe traffic flow on a community's
roadways and will help communities avoid some of the traffic problems
caused by uncontrolled strip development.

Purpose of this handbook

This handbook emphasizes the importance of including access management
principles in a community's comprehensive development plan. However,
communities without a comprehensive plan or whose plan does not address
access management can still use the guidelines suggested in this handbook
to develop a successful access management program.

This book will be especially helpful for city and county officials
who want to include access management standards in local ordinances
such as zoning, subdivision, or site plan review ordinances. The appendices
include the Iowa Primary Road Access Management Policy adopted by the
Iowa Department of Transportation, and example ordinances that can be
implemented at the city and county levels.

While this handbook is designed specifically for Iowa, officials from
other states may find the general definitions and principles helpful.
Of course, the code of other states may be different from Iowa's, and
therefore portions of this handbook may not be pertinent to officials
in those states.

Table of contents

All files below are in pdf format. To read these files, you may need to download the free Adobe Acrobat reader.